Oklahoma Department of Corrections hoping to fill 600 open positions

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OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma state agency is hoping to fill 600 open positions at facilities across the state.

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has been dealing with understaffing issues for years, but officials say they are now in a position to fill many of those open positions.

Officials tell News 4 that the agency has about 600 openings for full-time correctional officer cadets at 24 facilities across the state.

Correctional officers are responsible for taking inmates to and from medical appointments, keeping them fed, ensuring they receive their medication, monitoring recreation, transport them between facilities and keep them safe while monitoring the security of the facility.

Last legislative session, lawmakers approved a pay raise for correctional officers across the state, meaning their starting pay would begin at $15.74 an hour. In addition to the pay raise, correctional officers also receive health, dental, vision and life insurance. They are also eligible to retire in 20 years.

Officials say applicants must be U.S. citizens, at least 20-years-old, have no felony convictions or history of domestic violence.

The following are examples of vacancies across the state:

96 cadet positions were open at North Fork Correctional Center in Sayre